The New York-based agency has handled other assignments for Motorola, so the company was familiar with its work, said Jennifer Weyrauch, senior manager of corporate communications. An executive at Joele Frank declined to comment on the assignment.

In a move that grabbed headlines across the pages of the business press, Motorola announced on October 6 that it planned to separate its semiconductor operations into a new publicly traded company.

It is considering an IPO for a portion of the new entity with distribution of its remaining shares to existing Motorola shareholders. The timing for all that has yet to be announced.

The move was greeted favorably by Wall Street, where pundits have said Motorola needs to shed a variety of businesses to focus on core competencies such as cell phones.